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Spikes between speakers & stands, up or down?

Okay so I am curious, I might try a set of spikes between a speaker and stand for a friend of mine. We are looking to replace the rubber stopper type pads to see how it sounds.

Coupling - Decoupling?

So I have seen both orientations of spikes, with them sticking "POINT UP" into the bottom of the speaker, which means installing the spike into the stand top plate, yes easier and less modification to messing with the speaker bottom.

Or "Point Down" which I assume is to drain the energy from the speaker down into the stand…

The bottom of the stands also already have nice solid brass spikes pointing into the floor of course, but I have just seen them again done both ways for the Stand to speaker but never reversed to the floor.

Another option which honestly might be the best is to try something that is NOT a spike device but rather a hard material of a metal flat foot or like Brass puck between the stand and speaker to transfer the energy vs. damping it and maybe loosing some resolution with the current Rubber pads?

Just looking for experience and what is suggested.. I think we rather stay away from spikes just due to the damage to the "spiked surface" and also due to drilling one or the other out to install them..

Also I have some Myrtle wood blocks which might even be a better Idea to give a shot? Keep it in the wood family and maybe get a solid energy transfer to the floor thru the stand that way?

Or maybe taking away the rubber will cause worse results who knows without experimentation right? I would assume the rubber is acting as a De coupler and any other hard material would work more as a Coupler.. So which would be better I guess?

Just don't want to buy anything till' there is a clear concensus on which is the correct direction to go with this.

Thanks      
undertow

Showing 3 responses by undertow

undertow OP
1,033 posts
 
Yeah it seems that realistically what we are discussing here are simply the interaction via a different material vs. the actual design implementaion itself.. I would feel that a sound deadner sheet about an 8th inch thick flat under the speaker removing the wood on wood ringing would probably be best, or spikes would be the next step simply to separate the sound from bringing the stand into the equation as an acoustical device at all and just simulate the speakers as if they are floating or just like they are directly on the floor via the only reason of the stand is simply to put them at the height for the drivers to perform at ear level.. It seems right now the stands play a bigger part and are acoustically altering the system for the better in most cases, if spikes were used it might remove some of that body and sound balance in my opinion, but then spikes could increase slightly in detail, but this does not make it more musical. I think leaving the thick rubber stopper vs. putting a deadner sheet will make little difference but would probably just muddy the sound if anything.
Only reason for the question was simple passion for the hobby, and now I see the conclusion is there are probably a few monitors designed to play a part with a stand acoustically and try to re-create the soundstage and anchoring of a floorstanding unit, and some simply use a stand to literally just raise the height of the speaker but not to really make a speaker sound better acoustically.
undertow OP
1,033 posts
 
Shardone, not so concerned about coloration so much as "are we restricting" any kind of energy transfer that if it was coupled to the stand opposed to being decoupled from the stand as it is now with rubber possibly getting better results in the foundation or resolution of the final sound that’s all. Thanks, guess its all experimentation, just figured why not see who has a solid opinion one way or the other.
undertow OP
1,033 posts
 
They are very heavy 1" plus Thick walls, relatively braced MDF with internal damping.. They are ported as well.
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